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Since Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, wouldn’t it need the most delta-v to escape the solar system? What about it makes it the most likely planet to b
by AdamH12113 4y ago
Since Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, wouldn’t it need the most delta-v to escape the solar system? What about it makes it the most likely planet to be ejected?
- jessaustin 4y agoIt is less massive than the other planets. Momentum is conserved, so any escape scenario would see at least one other planet with a smaller orbit.
- bmitc 4y agoThe solar system is a chaotic, dynamical, and n-body system though, so the 1 or 2-body problems involved in delta-v calculations are much more simple. In addition, Mercury's mass is low, relatively speaking.